Feeler-motion for looms.



H. A. OWEN. FEELER MOTION FOR Looms.

APPLICATION FILED luuizzs. 191s.

N m. V 0? hp, L f a. m 33% ,ww

H. A. OWEN.

FEELER monbm FOR LOOMS. APP LICATION HLEDJUNE Z6.19!6.

- Patented Jan. 14,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- H. A. OWEN.

FEELER MOTION FOR LOOMS. APPLIIIATION FILED JUNE 26. 19:5.

Patented Jam, 1919.

a SHEETS-SIHEET 3.

fnvenzorzflz'inssess @Cm W QD I @a HENRY A. OWEN, OIE' WHITINSVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGIL.

MENTS, TO DRAPER CORPORATION, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- IION 0F MAINE. i

1,2a1,1os.

Application med June 26, 1916. Serial 110. 105,795.

'To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY citizen of the United States, residing at Whitinsville, in the county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Feeler-Motions for Looms, of which the fol lowing is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

, The invention has relation to feeler-motions such as are employed in looms for detecting when the supply of weft contained in a shuttle on the lay of a loom has become depleted to a predetermined extent. The invention comprises a novel disposition and relationship of the feeler-carrier of a feeler-motion of the general class repre-- loom with: one of the said embodiments ap-J plied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a .front elevation of the parts that are shown in Fig. 1, omitting 'the shuttle-box and shuttle.

Fig. 3 is a View in section in the plane indicated by line 3, 3, Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrowsat the ends of such line.

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the features of the invention.

"Fig. 5 is a plan view of the improved feeler-tip or contact-point, Fig. 6 is a side elevation thereof, Fig. 7 is an elevation of the working end thereof, and Fig. 8 is a view of thestem of the said feeler-tip or contactpoint in cross-section on line 8, 8, of Fig. 6. for call- Fig. 9 shows an alternative means ing a change.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

A. OWEN, a

' FEELER-MOTION FOR LOOMS.

Patented Jan. 11, 1919.

Fig. 10 is a sectional. detail view of the pivotal mounting of the feeler-member.

Having reference to the drawings, and first to the illustrative embodiment that is. shown in FigsJl and'2,--

Figs. 1 and 2, as in the case of that shown and described in Letters Patent No. 1,127,- 086, comprise a laterally displaceable feelermember 1 furnished with a feeler-tip 2 of a slipping type, an actuator 3 that is combined operativelywith the said feeler-memher, a carrier 4 for the feeler-member and actuator, arranged to swing around a pivotal mounting 4 upon a feeler-stand 5, and a controller 6 pivoted at 7 upon the said feeler-stand and adapted to be actuated by.

the actuator 3, and also arranged to control k the latch, catch, or dog 8 of the devices for calling a change in the operation of a loom.

The general construction shown in Figs 1 and 2,'taken as a whole, is of a later desi 11 than that shown in Letters Patent 1T0. 1,127,086, and the specific constructionof the parts that have been named varies from that shown and explained in such Letters Patent. In addition, the said general construction includes the features of the present invention, as well as various specific featnres of invention that have been made the subject of separate application for Letters Patent.

As in Letters Patent No. 1,127,086, the feeler-member 1 in Figs. 1 and 2 of the aceompanying drawings is the more immedi ate support and carrier for the actuator 3,.

and lateral displaceability of the feelermember is provided for by arranging it to swing in a horizontal plane around a pivot 9 on the feeler-carrier, although these precise characteristics are not in themselves essential to the present invention. .Also, by means of a contracting spiral spring 10 the feeler-memberis held normally against a stop 11 upon the feeler-carrier 4 ha position such that the actuator will lnissthe 55 The main featuresof the feeler-motion of engaging end-piece 6 of controller 6 if the feeler-carrier 4 is swung forward its pivot 49 with the feeler-member in gcontact with-such stop. As in such Letters l atent lf oo also, the feeler-carrier normally is held in a rearward posltlon against a fixed stop 23 upon the feelerstand by the action of a suitthe lay 16 beats up with the shuttle in the shuttle-box at the feeler-side of the loom, so that the feeler-tip shall'receive against its acting extremity the blow or pressure of the shuttle-contents.

The mode of operation, in general, of the feeler-motion of Figs. 1 and 2 resembles that in the case of the feeler-motion shown in Letters Patent No. 1,127 ,086. Certain differences are indicated hereinaften. Such mode of operation may be briefly stated as follows: As in the said Letters Patent, so long as'the weft-carrier within the shuttle continues to hold a sufficient thickness of weft to prevent the extremityof the feelertip from slipping lengthwise of the weftcarrier under the effect of the forward blow or, pressure against such extremity, the actuator goes forward at one side of the en; f gaging piece 6 of the controller 6 as the l feeler-member and its carrier 1: are driven i forward, and consequently misses tlevsaid engaging piece. This follows from the fact that when the fecler-tip is thus held from lipping the feeler-member remains in conatct with or close to'the stop' 11 on the feeler-carricr as the feeler-member and feeler-carrier are driven forward by the blow or pressure against the feeler-tip. \Vhen the supply of weft within the shuttlebecomes so far depleted that it no longer is capable of preventing the feeler-tip from beino deflected lengthwise of-the Weft-carrier by the forward blow. applied through v the weft-carrier, the resulting turning .movement of the feeler-member around its pivotal mounting 9 upon the feeler/carrier,

' the extent of which is limited by the stop of the feeler-carrier the actuator will engage.

111 upon the said carrier, and which takes place before the fccler-carri'er goes forward, Will 'throw the engaging end of the actuator Lihto line with the engaging end-piece 6 of thecontroller, so that in the forward stroke such end-piece and actuate thecontroller. Thereby the controller will be turned around its pivot 7, from its normal position defined by a stop 17 upon'thc fcelcr -stand, against which the controller is held by the action of a spring 18. Substantially as in the Letters Patent aforesaid, as the controller is thus turned, its extension 6" will act against the cam-shaped portion 8 of latch, catch, or dog '8 and turn the latter upon its pivot 8" carried by the a1'1n*"1 9 mountedon the transversely-extending shaft 20 below breast-beam 21. *y th s turning movement of the latch, catch, or dog its shoulder 8, Fig. 3, will be placed in thepath' of movement of a convenient striker 22, usually carried by the weft-hammer, and as a result of the engagement of sion 6 to clear the cam-shaped portion 8 of latch, catch, or dog 8, the overbalancing front arm of the latter will cause it to swing clear of the striker 22. As the lay recedes, the feeler-carrier 4 through the action of the contracting spiral spring 24 which is engaged with a short arm 4 o the 'feeler-carrier, will be swung rearward against the stop 23 aforesaid upon the feeler-stand, which defines the normal or waiting position of the feeler-carrier.

The stops 11, 111, 17, and 23 are adj stable screw-stops, the stops 11' and 111 being screwed through threaded holes n a piece or lug' rising from feeler-carri r 4, and the other two being screwed th ugh threaded holes in lugsforming porti is of the feeler-stand 5. Spring 10 is enga ed at one end thereof with an adjustable crewpin 2:! occupying a hole in a. lug 26 rising from the feeler-carrier, and nuts 29, 29. upon the said screw-pin at opposite sides of said lug serve to adgist it lengthwise to vary the tension of t' e spring 10. Locknuts 11, 111, 17, and 23 in connection with screw-stops 1 1, 111, 17 and 23 prevent accidental loss of adjustment of such sto s. The tension of spring 24 is regulated y adjustment of the screw 24, to which one end of such spring'is connected, along a slot 4, Fig. 1, in arm 4 of the feeler-carrier 4. The screw is held at the desired point in the length of such slot by means of a nut 2st", Fig. 2, upon the stem of such screw below arm 1*, which nut may be tightened against the underside of such arm so as to clamp the arm between the nut and a washer 24on the top of the arm, beneath the head of the screw. These various details in themselves form no part of the present from its holding notch 30" pivotal mounting 9 for the feeler-member located upon the inward extension of the feeler-carrier. This location of the supporting pivot 4 and arrangement of feelercarrier 4, enable e disposed outward beyond the controller if desired, and substantially in line therewith laterally of a loom. In virtue of the pivot 4 and feeler-carrier being disposed outward beyond the controller, the parts are less crowded in the neighborhood of the shipper-handle, knocking-ofi devices, etc., and do nottake up as much space in the direction from front torear, as when the pivots of feeler-carrier and controller are adjacent each other, with the'controller located parallel with the feeler-carrier, or substantially so, as in Letters Patent No. 1,127,086. The arrangement I shown in said Letters Patent is unsuited for employment in conjunction with some combinations and arrangements of shipper-handles, knockingofi' devices, and brake-operating(handles, as

for instance the construction and arrangement shown in the accompanying drawings. In the latter a portion of the shipper-handle is indicated at 30 it working in the slot 31 in the bracket 32 to which i'eeler-stand 5 is bolted, the said slot havin the usual forwardly-'otfset notch 30 in .w ich the shipperhandle is detained for the purpose of keeping the driving-power on. At 33 is aknocking-ofi lever which extends in usual manner transversely in front of the said slot, and at 34 is a brake-operating handle of known function, forming in itself no part of this invention, that is pivoted upon said bracket 32 at 34? alongside a slot 35 through which connecting-rod 36 extends from said brakeoperat-ing handle down to a brake-connected.

lever, the two slots 31 and 35 being quite close together. As will be perceived, my present location and arrangement of parts as aforesaid, avoids the crowding and resulting drawbacks of the earlier construction. Another advantage of the outboard pivotal mounting of the feeler-carrier is the fact thatas the feeler-carrier swings forward it does not carry the actuator 3 of theifeelere member into the path in which the shi perhandle moves as it flies outward upon eing disengaged from notch 30* of slot 31. Consequently the shipper-handle Wlll not strike against the actuator, if released at the instant when the feeler-carrier, feeler-member, etc., are forward. This is important in a loom in which, in Figsl to 3, the arm 19 is furnished th a lu 19 adapted to engage the knockingeofi' le er 33 and actuate the'latter to release the s 1ipper-handle 30 or dog is engaged 11y the striker 22 and the .arm tli reby swun' orwat'd.

Prefetably the ivot 9 by which feelermembeii l is iiouiltgd upoillthe feeler-carrier the entire feeler-carrier to hen catch, latch of movement of the actuator 3 ment of the feeling extremity of the feeler Y i tip is more nearly normal (at night an les) to the incline of the tapering'mose o the diminishing mass of weft upon the weftcarrier, than mounted upon an inwardly-located ivot. Less drag or friction upon the exterior of the mass of weft occurs. The action of the feeler-point is more reliable, also, when working throughout the prolonged stage in which a parallel-sided or approximately parallel-sided. i. e. cylindrical or approximately cylindrical. mass of large diameter is extremity of the' presented to the feeling feeler-tip.

I form the feelentip 2,515 shown. in Figs. l

5 and 6, with a rather large acting end or extremity which I have hollowed or grooved transversely. as at 2, Figs. 6 and 7, so as when the feeler-carrier is to render the said end or extremity concave to fit a of a bobbin or shuttle-spindle. nent portions 2 2", at of the concavity are toothed, as shown in Figs. 1. 5 and 7 to take weft on the bobbin so as to prevent premature slipping. The enlarged concave surface with the toothed portions above and below" the same works well on all classes of work, whether the bobbins that are used are enamhold of the turns'of portion of the convex peripherv l 1 The promithe top, and bottom a eled, shellacked or oiled; and on mule cops;

'and even on glazed paper tubes. This form f of feeler-tip has proved capable of universal I adaptation to all classes of work, rendering it serviceable for use, for instance. in a change-box loom having cop-weft in one shuttle andweftlwound on a bobbin in another, with one and the same setting of the feeler devices. a v

I have found vulcanized fiber an advantageous material for the feelentip, and in practical have made the'same in the form of a round rod or pencil having a squared or oblong rear end or head. Preferably I protecting material. I have employed brass.

One end of the. said tube or shell takes against, the laterally outstanding angular portions oithe squared or oblongrear end asindicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 8. 1 The tube or shell may simply have a tight or head,

fit upon the stem oithe feeler-tip, .or it may be made securethereon by driving a tongue,

incase the stein-portion of the feeleri5 in a i tube or shell 2 of suitable stifl'emng an ward inoperative position is/shown at 41,

Figs. 1 and 2. It consists in a hook that is pivotally mounted by means of a screw 43 upon an upstanding portion of a lug 5 that projects forward from the outer portion of feeler-stand Normally, this hook merely hangs idly as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When, however, the feeler-devices are not required to act, the hook is swung over on top of the feeler-carrier 4, and after the latter has been swung forward against the stop-cushion42, Fig. 1, carried by the lug 5, the engaging portion of the hook is pressed or drops down behind the arm of the feeler-carrier. The resulting engagement of the hook with the feeler-carrier serves to keep the feeler-carrier forward, and the feeler-me'mber and feeler-tip in an idle and inoperative position.

Cushion 42 limitsthe forward throw of the feeler-carrier as it is driven forward by they impact of the shuttle-contents against the feeler-tip.

The feeler-member 1 of Figs. 1 and 2 is arranged for outward deflection of the feeler tip. The actuator moves normally in apath located laterally outward beyond the engaging piece 6 'of the controller. Fig. 4 shows I an embodiment of the invention in which the direction of the deflecting movement is the reverse, 2'. 0., inward, and the actuator moves normally in a path located inward with relation tothe said engaging piece. In Fig. 4 the pivot, 9, by which the feeler-member is mounted upon the feeler-carrier, is located outward beyond the feeler-tip, and the feelermember arm which carries the feeler-tip extends inward. from the said pivot, whereas in Figs. 1 and 2 the corresponding pivot is locatedjinward of the feeler-tip and the supporting arm of the latter projects outward;

from the pivot. The parts more immediately associated with the feeler-member also are reversed in a lateral direction. This reversal extends to and includes the engaging piece, here designated 61, of the controller, heredesignated 61, the said engaging piece being mounted upon an outward extension of the controller soas to extend inward into close proximity to the normal position and path of the actuator 3. The embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is advantageous for use in connectionvwith weft wound so that the exterior of the base or butt-portion of a wound mass has a pronounced taper toward the head of the'weft-carrier, as frequently occurs in mill-practice. With this construcoccupies a tion and arrangement the actuator becomes more completely engaged with the engaging piece of the controller as the two go forward in unison, and hence stays engaged therewith. In the case of the first embodiment of the invention, there occurs a quick dlsengagement of the two parts as they go forward together.

Referring to Fig. 10, the pivot 9 of the feeler-member is shown therein as a stud having a shoulder!) and a screw-threaded ment 9 of the bore through the feeler-memher, at the'top of the hub-portion of the feeler-member, constitutes an oil-chamber,

thereby providing for adequate lubrication I of the pivot.

The character of the change that is arranged to be called in the operation of the loom may vary in practice. Such change may consist in simple stopping of the loom, as provided for in Figs. 1, 2, 3, by means of the hig19, with which arm 19 is furnished for engagement with the knockingofl lever 33 to actuate the said lever as the arm is moved forward. In mbst cases the said lug will be omitted and arm 19 will be made fast upon shaft20, with which will be combined provisions for bringing about au-\ tomatic weft-replenishment.

The alternative means for calling a chan e that is shown in Fig. 9 contains a late catch or dog 8, hinged by a pivot 81" to the upper end of an arm 19 clamped upon the controlling shaft 20 for automatic 'weft-replenishing instru-mentalities. The cam 8 against which the extension 6 of the controller acts is located at the under side of the said latch, catch, or dog. In the normal position of the-controller the said extension under a ho low of the said under side, and consequently the latch, catch or dog occupies a lowered position in which the engaging portion of a striker 22, preferably carried y the weft-hammer, passes above the engaging end 8' of the latch, catch or dog without engaging with such end. Rearward movement of the extension 6", occurring in consequence of the actuation of the controller by means of the feeler-member, causes the said extension to act against the cam-portion 8" to raise the latch, catch or dog so as to place its engaging end 8 thereof in the path of the engaging portion of the striker.

osition in which it is presented Thereby engagement of the striker with the latch, catch or dog, and actuation ofbreast-beam rockshaft 20, are brought about.

What is claimed as the invention is,-

1. A Weft-feeler mechanism comprising carrier mounted thereon, carrying inward of the pivot a laterally-displaceable slipping feeler-member and an actuator-made operative by lateral displacement of the feelermember, and swung around said pivot by impact of the shuttle-contents against the feeler-member, and a controller actuated by said actuator through the swinging movement of the fe'elcr-carrier upon slipping and consequent lateral displacement of the feelermember in the feeling action.

2. A weft-feeler mechanism com rising a feeler-stand extending outboar with reference to the loom an outboard pivotal mounting on said feeler-stand, a feelercarrier mounted thereon, carryin inward of the pivot a laterally-displaceab e slipping feeler-member and an actuator made operative by lateral displacement of the feelermembcr, and swung around said pivot by impact of the shuttle-contents against the feeler-member and a controller mounted upon an inwardly located pivot and adapted to be actuated by said actuator through the swinging movement of the feeler-carrier up- ,on slipping and consequent lateral displacement of the feeleimember in the feelingaction.

ping feeler member pivoted thereon, a lug on the carrier, a stop-screw transversely threaded in said lug to limit the pivotal movement of said member on the carrier, a second lug on said carrier and an adpistable spring connecting the same to said member.

4. In a loom feeler motion, a feeler memberadapted to call a change by slipping sidewise on the weft and having a toothed contact tip concaved or grooved on an axis substantially parallel with the direction of its slip.

5. In a loom feelei' motion, a feeler member adapted to call a change by slipping sidewise on the weft and having a contact tip toothed transversely to, and grooved or concaved parallel with the direction of its sli 3 In a loom feeler motion, a feeler member adapted to call a change by slipping sidewise on the weft and having a nonlnetalliccontact tip provided with' one or more yarn-penetrating, tooth-like projections on its upper and lower sides and a longitudinally grooved bet\VQUnrth0 projections.

In testimony whereof I allix my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY A. ()\Vl*lN.

Witnesses:

lfinnux Srmxu, Ensm A. Banrzscn. v 

